If I Could Bring You Back Home
by Team Damon
Summary: She's moved on, and he hasn't. He doesn't know how to, and he's pretty sure that accepting her invitation to her engagement party is a bad idea and isn't gonna give him closure like Steve says it will, but... well, at this point, what the hell. Bucky/OC, modern AU


**A/N: HEYYYYY EVERYONE :D I once again apologize for popping up with something that is not another chapter of Til Death Do Us Part, but this is at least Bucky/Summer so we're getting closer at least lol :) I've had this thing saved in my drafts for a ridiculously long time, one of a number of things I've started without finishing (heh heh *hides*) and I randomly felt like picking it back up and finishing it soooo... I did. I know you guys are waiting for more TDDUP and I feel awful for how long it's taking but I'm just having an extremely hard time picking it back up where I left off. But I will! In the meantime, hopefully this'll help make the wait suck a little less. I love you guys and thank you once again for your support and patience! And thank you to midnightwings96 for her ever-irreplaceable help! See you guys soon! :D**

Stopped at a red light on his way home to his apartment one otherwise unremarkable night, Bucky Barnes stared blearily at the mostly empty road ahead before grabbing his phone and glancing at the two new text notifications on the screen. He didn't want to read them, not really - he already knew what they would say - but he still swiped to unlock the phone anyway, quickly scanning over the words sent to him from his best friend.

 _You gonna come out?_ the first text asked, followed by, _I think you should. Might be your last real chance to say your peace._

Bucky clenched his jaw and tossed his phone on the passenger seat, sighing and tightening his one-handed grip on the steering wheel. He leaned his head back against his seat, fighting a war inside over what to do. On the one hand, he knew there was no point. He was better off going home to his empty apartment like he did every night, maybe drinking until he managed to pass out and get a good night's sleep for once, but on the other hand...

He knew this was a mistake, likely the stupidest one he'd made in months, but that didn't stop him from making a U-turn the minute the light turned green. Instead of going home, he drove back across the Brooklyn Bridge and towards an engagement party taking place at an upscale bar in Manhattan.

The entire way there, he tried to talk himself out of what he was doing. There was no point, and the invite that he'd received via social media had been a purely polite but empty gesture, he was sure. There was no way that she actually wanted him there, but she was nice enough to invite him anyway and maintain the illusion of friendship they'd endured since... since _then_.

But they weren't friends, not really. They were nothing now, absolutely _nothing_ , and though he had tried his very best, nothing had ever managed to fill the void that she had left behind. He was frozen in time, stuck dreaming of a life he could have had if he hadn't been an idiot, but she was a much different story. She was happy again, smiling all over social media as she prepared to marry a man who she gushed over in long, sugary sweet posts that he read only because he had a twisted love of self-punishment.

She had moved on. He hadn't. And now he was going to go and see her again, wish her well and walk away once the misery became too much to trudge through in public. _Then_ he'd go home to his empty bed and the loneliness that waited there, and he'd wonder for the thousandth time when he became the pathetic man that he currently was.

The bar was packed once he got there, and finding somewhere on the street to park was quite the challenge. Once he figured that out, he turned off the engine and glanced up in the rearview mirror, frowning at the reflection looking back at him. His hair was longer than it had ever been, grazing his shoulders, and a full beard covered his jaw. He didn't dislike the look, but for a guy who previously never allowed one hair out of place and used to value the clean-cut look, it was a rather telling sign of just how little he cared about certain things anymore.

He tucked his hair behind his ears and opened the car door, stepping out and shutting it. He then grabbed the black leather jacket he kept stowed in the backseat and tossed it on over his white t-shirt, then began his trek across the street and towards the bar.

All of his friends were also her friends, and the demise of their romance hadn't changed that. It just made social events a bit more tricky, and after initially braving a few parties he'd been to where she also was, he'd decided that it wasn't worth the pain and began a stint as a bit of a hermit. He hadn't seen her in person in months now, and now that he was so close to breaking that streak, his stomach was in knots and he was _heavily_ second guessing himself.

This was a mistake. Panic settling in just before he would have stepped foot on the sidewalk, he came to a stop and then turned around. He would have gotten away, too, if not for a familiar voice calling out his name.

"Bucky?"

He froze and reluctantly turned back around, cover blown and escape thwarted. He looked up and saw Natasha smiling at him in surprise from just outside the bar, poking her husband next to her to get him to take notice as well.

"Hey," Bucky said, trying for nonchalance as he headed their way as if he hadn't just been trying to run away like a coward.

"Holy shit," Clint said, grinning with slightly wide eyes. "You come here to crash the party, man?"

"No," Bucky shook his head, forcing a grin back. "No, I was... invited."

Clint furrowed his brows. "Really?"

Natasha smacked his shoulder. "Of course he was. They're friends."

"Mmhm," Clint hummed, knowing full well how that wasn't the case. "And I'm the President of the United States."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it was hard enough for him to come as it is, don't make it worse."

"It's all right," Bucky shrugged, hands in the pockets of his jacket. He glanced towards the bar's windows and then back to the couple in front of him before asking, "Am I making a mistake? Should I leave?"

Natasha shook her head. "I don't think so. Besides, I haven't seen you out and about like this in a long time."

"I really don't know why I'm here," he admitted. "I wasn't planning on coming, but..."

"Well, you're either really brave or really stupid," Clint observed. "Can't really say I know which, even after knowing you almost eight years."

"Thanks, man," Bucky nodded back dryly.

Natasha rolled her eyes and grabbed Bucky's arm, linking hers with it and steering them towards the doors. "Come on, let's get you inside before you chicken out for good."

"Why are you so determined to get me in there?" Bucky asked as Clint opened the door for them. Music and laughter poured out of the building, lively sounds of a party in full swing, and it set Bucky's nerves back on edge.

"I have my reasons," Natasha replied cryptically before pulling him inside, sealing his fate.

The place really _was_ packed. Almost every table was taken, all the stools at the bar filled, and Bucky recognized half of the faces in there. Most of them noticed him and gave him surprised smiles, happy and shocked to see him, and he did his best to put on a good show for them. He was good at that, at putting on a brave face and grinning like nothing in the world mattered and pretending that nothing could get to him. The people who knew him best knew that it was fake, but he still played the part when he needed to. And this was definitely one of those times.

He looked for her everywhere, but he didn't see her. He hoped irrationally that maybe she had left her own party before he even arrived and that he would be spared this, but of course, he knew he wouldn't get that lucky. He clenched his jaw and let Natasha keep walking him across the room, towards the left side of the bar, and that was when it happened. A guy got up and vacated his seat, and without him in the way, Bucky suddenly saw _her_.

His heart jumped up in his throat, and he choked it back down and let himself just... soak her up for a moment. She was leaning on the bar, reaching for a new round of drinks that the bartender had just delivered to her, and she was smiling and laughing in that beautifully carefree way of hers. Her black hair was down and curled in loose waves, reaching the small of her back, and she was wearing a deep red wrap dress that hugged her body in ways that made him ache. She kept laughing, dropping her head down and eyes closing as she giggled, and the sweet sounds reached his ears.

He used to make her laugh like that. They used to laugh until they'd cry, until their sides hurt, and he suddenly realized he hadn't _really_ laughed in months.

But time for self-reflection would come later. She grabbed the drinks and turned around, eyes landing on him and Natasha and going so wide it was almost hilarious. She also dropped one of the shots in the process, hitting the floor and shattering the glass.

" _Frick_!" she exclaimed, face turning red with embarrassment as she looked back up, then down, and then up again. "I'm sorry, I - wow, I wasn't expecting to see you. I mean, I know I invited you and... but..."

He swallowed, forcing a small smile and replying, "Well, I can go if you want, but I -"

"No!" she exclaimed. "No, I didn't mean it like that! No, I'm glad you're here. _Wow_." She smiled and looked him over, eyes getting stuck on his hair. "Look at you! You grew out your hair. And... you have a beard."

He nodded, running a hand through his hair nervously. "Yeah, I... figured why not." He glanced to his side and suddenly realized that Natasha was gone. When had she slipped away without him even noticing? Stealthy little brat.

"It looks good on you," Summer smiled, and he could tell that she meant it. She wasn't just being polite for the sake of conversation.

"... You look great too," he told her, his voice coming out smaller than he'd intended. "Congratulations. For..." he gestured to the bar and the party in general, smiling when she chuckled and nodded.

"Thank you! Yeah, I just - oh, I'm so sorry," she told an employee who had just arrived with a broom and dustpan to clean up her mess. After apologizing profusely, she got out of the way and smiled at Bucky again, seemingly forgetting what she had been saying. They both stood there a bit awkwardly for a minute, unsure of what to say and looking at each other with an ocean's worth of distance between them, until someone else came along and ruined whatever conversation might have come next.

"What's the hold up, honey?" said _him_ , the man whom Bucky had seen in countless photos on Facebook and harbored a bone-deep hatred for. His name was Andrew and he was tall, blonde, and well on his way to making partner at a prestigious law firm in the city. He was quite the catch, according to conventional wisdom, and he didn't hesitate to slide an arm around Summer's waist and lay a soft kiss right on her lips.

He felt like a jagged knife had just been shoved into his heart, twisted, and then yanked back out again.

Summer smiled, flustered, and pulled away from the kiss before glancing nervously to Bucky and explaining, "Oh, well, I was just, um, talking to... an old friend."

The knife was back, lodged even more deeply in his chest this time. Bucky didn't bother to hide his reaction to _that_ , looking at Summer with such wounded eyes that she paled a little as she realized how he had taken that comment.

"Oh, hi," Andrew smiled brightly, shoving a hand towards Bucky. "I don't think we've met. I'm Andrew."

"Bucky," he muttered back, and Andrew froze mid-handshake.

The smile dropped off of his face and he withdrew his hand. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Andrew -"

"She invited me," Bucky replied, and he would have been lying had he said he didn't get some satisfaction from the way Andrew's brows shot up his forehead.

He turned to Summer in disbelief. "Is that true?"

Summer bit her lip anxiously, fiddling with her fingers and looking back and forth between the two men before admitting, "I... yeah. I didn't think you'd mind. I mean, we're friends and..."

Andrew then pulled his arm away from her, clenching his jaw and muttering, "Unbelievable." Then he stalked off, back towards their table, and Summer tried to make him stop and come back, but her efforts were in vain.

She turned back to Bucky, her anxiety and fear evident in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, as if Andrew's behavior had been her fault. "I really didn't think he'd care."

Bucky glanced over at Andrew, who was now sitting and staring stonily at the table he was at, and then turned back to Summer. "I can go. I don't wanna cause you any trouble."

"No," Summer shook her head. "No, I want you to stay. He can get over it."

"... Are you sure?"

She wasn't, judging by the way she was still fidgeting and glancing nervously at her fiancé. But she took a breath and nodded again. "Yeah. He's being ridiculous. And that was extremely rude, so... yeah. I'm gonna go talk to him, okay?"

Bucky nodded quickly. "Yeah. Okay."

Summer opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and quietly thanked him again for coming before heading towards Andrew. He watched her go, frown still fixed firmly on his face, wondering if incidents like this weren't uncommon. She'd looked so panicked at the thought of upsetting Andrew, and he hated that.

While Bucky watched as Summer sat down next to Andrew and spoke to him, earning nothing but a shake of the man's head and the cold shoulder, Steve appeared at his side and handed him a beer. "You showed up after all."

Bucky took the bottle, still watching the couple. "Yeah. Starting to think I shouldn't have."

"Someone's not happy," Steve said, eyes traveling to Andrew.

"Who bloody cares," Peggy replied, sidling up to Bucky's other side, also watching. "I swear, if she actually marries this man, I will organize a protest and march in front of her apartment."

Bucky glanced at Peggy, surprised to hear such a sentiment. "You don't like him?"

"Darling," Peggy replied, "every moment that I spend in his company is another moment I would rather spend at the dentist getting my teeth drilled. Without anesthetic."

Bucky's eyebrows shot up. "That bad?"

"He's... well," Steve added with a small sigh. "On paper, he's all right. But he's just..."

"He's too controlling," Peggy said. "I don't doubt that he cares for her, but he's stifling her. She tries so hard to be perfect for him but always feels as if she falls short because of how he treats her. She's trying her best to make it work, but I despise the effect that he has on her. And now he's ruining her engagement party."

Bucky looked back to the couple, who were now standing and arguing in a corner, trying to be discreet. Summer looked like she was pleading with him, and Andrew just looked pissed off and tired. If all of that was just over Summer inviting Bucky to her party, he could only imagine how many other things they fought over on a regular basis.

"Is she happy with him?" Bucky asked.

"She's trying very hard to be," Peggy replied. "She's convinced it's the stress of the engagement getting to them. I think it's more that he's letting his true colors show a bit now that the newness of the relationship has worn off."

If what Peggy was saying was true - and he had no doubt that it was - then reality was a far different picture from the one Summer liked to paint on social media. He didn't feel any joy or satisfaction at the thought. He wanted her to be happy, no matter what had happened between them in the past.

"She was happier when she was with you," Steve said quietly. "More herself."

 _That_ didn't bring Bucky any joy either. Hearing that only made him sadder, because he knew she'd never come back to him. He'd harbored hopes about that long enough to know that it would never happen.

Over the next half an hour or so, Bucky kept a subtle eye on Summer and her fiancé while he nursed his drink - just one, since he was driving - and chatted with Steve and a few other friends. The conversation drifted from Summer to other, lighter topics, and he did manage to enjoy himself a bit despite it all. It had been awhile since he'd been out like this, but someone else wasn't having a good time anymore and it was painfully obvious.

After their quiet spat, Summer and Andrew returned to their table and tried to put on a happy face for the others. But Bucky could easily see the tension between them and the strain in Summer's smile. He still knew her like the back of his hand after all this time, and he knew exactly what she looked like when she was trying to pretend that everything was all right when things clearly were not.

Then, while the party was still in full swing, Andrew simply left. He did it with little warning, getting up and throwing his coat on, and Summer followed him with alarm in her eyes. They had another brief argument before he walked out and left her there alone at her own engagement party, fighting back tears and visibly embarrassed beyond belief.

By then, Natasha and Clint were back chatting with Bucky again. Natasha shook her head after Andrew huffed out of the bar and said, "The saddest thing might be how _not_ surprised I am."

"Why is she with this guy?" Bucky wondered out loud, watching as Summer did her best to square her shoulders and go back to her party. She made up an excuse about some emergency of Andrew's, and most of her guests politely pretended to believe it.

"Because you broke her," Natasha replied bluntly. "And she's done what she can to put the pieces back together. And he used to be good to her in the beginning."

Bucky frowned and finished off his drink. This was just... _wrong_. Everything was wrong. And he couldn't help but blame himself. If he had been a better man, a better lover and a better partner, she never would have slipped through his fingers and maybe this would be their engagement party. And he damn sure wouldn't have walked out of it like her real fiancé did.

Most of the guests left soon thereafter, including Steve and Peggy. Clint and Natasha stuck around the longest, Nat having a drink with Summer at the bar and comforting her while Clint gathered up their things, and Bucky faced a bit of a dilemma. Should he leave and go home to his empty room and empty bed, or stay a little longer and take Natasha's place and... well, then what?

It was a stupid idea, most likely, but he didn't care anymore. He had already made the mistake of showing up tonight, so he might as well take it all the way. Natasha gave up her seat and kissed Summer's cheek goodbye as she bade her goodnight, and as she walked away, Nat gave Bucky a look that made him suspect that this had been her evil plan all along. When Bucky took the newly vacated seat, Summer eyed him apprehensively and sighed before reaching for her drink.

"So," Summer muttered, staring down at the bar, "I'm sure everyone filled you in on the trainwreck that is my relationship after he stormed out of here."

Bucky waved off the bartender's inquiring look and nodded, trying to keep his eyes off of her legs but failing. They'd always been two of his parts of her, especially when she was in heels, and she was in a pair of sky-high strappy ones tonight. "They didn't use the word trainwreck, but..."

She shook her head, swirling the drink - whiskey, he was sure - in its glass. "I still can't believe he just left like that. You must think he's just a massive dick."

"... Or an entire bag of them," Bucky shrugged.

Summer glanced at him and smiled just a tiny bit. He smiled back and _dammit he was still so fucking in love with her_.

She groaned and dropped her head into her hands, oblivious to his turmoil. "He's not usually like that. He... we really are happy, most of the time. He's just stressed because of work and how busy he is, and... he gets jealous easily too, I guess. Plus he can get kind of moody when he drinks, and..."

Bucky nodded. "You know that's all bullshit, Summer."

Her eyes flew back to him, surprised at his bluntness. "What?"

"None of that gives him the excuse to act like that and embarrass you," Bucky replied. "You deserve better."

She winced like his words physically hurt her. "Look, can you just... everyone tells me that all the time. Nat, Peggy, even Steve, and I just... I _know_ that, okay? I know it's not right and I know we're not..." She cut herself off, shook her head and turned back to him. "Just... can we talk about something else?"

He nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. Of course. Anything you want."

That little smile of hers came back, so much smaller and more guarded than what he remembered. "How are _you_ doing these days?"

He sighed and looked away, giving a small shrug. "I'm fine. Not much new to talk about, really."

"Except for the hair," Summer grinned. "I really like it."

He grinned back and felt his face become oddly hot - was he _blushing_? How long had it been since he had honest to God _blushed? "_ Well... thanks."

"It suits you. I wish you would have grown it out when we were together." Almost instantly, Summer flushed with embarrassment and then looked away, as if she instantly regretted saying that. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry about."

"I just... it's been so long since I've seen you," she said, looking at him in a way that was almost a little... wistful. "I didn't expect you to show up and... I don't know. I feel nervous talking to you which is ridiculous because it's _you_ and I've known you _forever_ but... God I'm rambling."

"I get it," he assured her. "Feels like that for me too."

She gave a sad smile. "How did we end up like this?"

He couldn't quite make eye contact as he gave his answer to that. "I ask myself that question pretty much every fucking day."

Before her unruly emotions could get the best of her, Summer rolled her eyes at herself and said, "Dang it, I changed the subject back to depressing crap! _God_! Maybe I just need to drink more..."

Bucky shook his head and grabbed her drink and pulled it out of her reach before she could down it. "Thing is, I know you've got two modes when you're drunk. You're either super emotional or incredibly horny and I really don't think you wanna be either of those things right now, so..."

That made Summer burst into brief but very cute giggles, face going red as her reaction brought a smile to Bucky's face. "Yeah... you're right. I guess I'm probably better off sober."

He nodded, mentally suppressing very vivid memories of nights they'd drank together before they could resurface and deepen his torment. Summer stone-cold sober was still a force of nature, but completely uninhibited Summer was... _life-altering_. He could remember those nights as if they were yesterday, still feel her on his skin and taste her on his lips, remember how she had made him feel and brought him to his knees so many times...

He needed to stop before he had a problem on his hands.

Before he could ask her something innocuous like how she was enjoying the cooler weather or what she'd been watching on Netflix lately, Summer surprised him by asking, "Can we get out of here?"

He blinked. "I... sure, but -"

"Just maybe... give me a ride home, take the scenic route? I don't wanna go home yet but I can't stand being here any longer. I can take a cab if you don't want to but..."

"I want to," he assured her, maybe a little _too_ quickly. "Yeah. Let's go."

And go they did, leaving the bar together and getting into his car across the street, all of it feeling extremely surreal to Bucky and making him more than a little nervous. This was not how he had expected the night to go, not by a long shot, and now Summer was hopping into his car with him and _only_ him after her engagement party gone wrong. It was a bad idea for several glaringly obvious reasons, the primary one being that Bucky could hardly keep his eyes off of her and that his heart could barely stand being so close to her while she was so far out of his reach. It probably wasn't fair to Summer either, coming off of a terrible night the way that she was, but neither of them had the slightest desire to change their minds.

After he started the engine, his phone buzzed and he checked it to find a text not from Steve or Nat, which what he'd expected, but rather a text from someone who hadn't been at the party. He had been entirely too nervous and wrapped up in Summer to even notice the absence of Loki and his wife. _I hear you made quite the splash at the engagement party of doom tonight._

Bucky quickly typed out a response, possibly spelling a few words wrong in his slight rush. _I'm giving her a ride home, talk later_.

The reply was almost instantaneous. _Oh? Well isn't that an interesting development_...

Bucky rolled his eyes and tossed his phone aside as he pulled out on to the street. Although now that he thought of it... "Did Loki and Aemilia not show up tonight?"

Summer sighed and shook her head, checking her own phone. "No, they, um... well, the last time they were in the same room as Andrew he got punched in the face."

Bucky looked over at her in alarm. "Loki punched him in the face?!"

"No, Aemilia did."

Bucky's eyes widened even further. " _What_?"

"It was last week," Summer explained with a nervous and odd mixture of a smile and a grimace. "We were all drinking together at their place, and politics got brought up one way or another, and..."

"Jesus," Bucky chuckled, politics being nothing short of a landmine and something he vigorously avoided discussing more often than not.

"Aemilia and Andrew got into it... like _really_ got into it," Summer recalled. "They were just disagreeing on everything, and because they were both kind of tipsy they weren't holding back _at all_. One thing led to another and he said that the government should cut _all_ funding to school art programs and put that money into programs to help people find 'real jobs' because ' _no offense, Aemilia, but singing and acting isn't a real job_ ' and yeah, she uh... well, she snapped."

Bucky's jaw fell open. "My God, what an idiot."

"Yeah... he totally deserved it," Summer nodded, unable to argue that point. "He apologized the next day, but... I don't know, they've never been fans of him and they had a bunch of work stuff going on today anyway. I had to change the date of the party at the last minute because Andrew's friend had this thing and he didn't wanna miss it, so..."

"... You had to change the date of your _engagement party_ because of his _friend_?"

Summer frowned and nodded, looking out the window as the city passed by. "Yep."

Bucky glanced at her again, frowning himself at the sad but sort of resigned look on her face. It was as if she had just... accepted her fate with this man, like truly she didn't think she could do better, and he couldn't understand why.

Then Natasha's words floated back to him. _You broke her_. This was his fault.

"So," Summer said, putting on a fake bright tone and clearly attempting to change the subject again, "how's the job going?"

"Good," he said, blinking away his previous thoughts. "Yeah, it's going good. Keeping steady."

"Aemilia said you moved to a bigger office," Summer replied.

"Yeah. Rent is hell but my patients are a lot more comfortable, which... I guess is worth it. Hard for people to open up to their therapist in a shithole full of leaky pipes."

Summer chuckled. "The first place wasn't _that_ bad. But I'm glad you're doing well."

He nodded. After taking a deep breath, Bucky slowed down for a red light and said, "Doing better now that I'm in therapy myself."

He could almost _hear_ the pleasant surprise bloom across her pretty face. He looked at her and she smiled so genuinely and sweetly that it made his heart ache even more. "Really? You are? That's... that's awesome!"

He shifted his grip on the wheel, nodding and feeling a little nervous about the topic. She had pushed him countless times to seek therapy for himself, and his refusal to had always been a little ironic considering his profession, but losing her had sent him on a spiral that had resulted in him finally caving and seeking help for the problems that had led him there in the first place. "Yeah, it's... helped some."

"Good!" she replied, visibly excited to hear this. "Oh man. I've worried about you so much and this makes me feel a lot better."

His expression softened and she blushed again, like she'd once again said too much. He couldn't quite think of what to say to that and she couldn't quite look away, but the sound of the car behind them honking angrily snapped them out of the momentary stupor. Bucky hit the gas and chuckled, and Summer smiled and looked down at her lap, reddening even more.

Her next question was quiet and cautious but one that he'd expected at some point. "Dating anyone?"

He shook his head, eyes on the road. "Nah."

She stayed quiet. Both of them were fairly sure they could cut the awkward tension in the air with a knife, and they each hated it with an equal passion. It never used to be like this with them but then again, they'd never jumped in a car together ages after a miserable breakup.

But the silence didn't last forever. After a few moments, Summer smiled to herself faintly and said, "Hey, remember Steve and Peggy's engagement party?"

Bucky groaned and let his own smile creep back up. "Oh my God... you mean the bar fight from hell that got us all banned for life? I've got a scar on the back of my neck from that, remember?"

"Yeah, because Tony broke a bottle over that one guy's head and a piece flew right into your neck," Summer giggled. "You didn't even flinch!"

"Yeah, but you screamed so hard you almost broke the windows," he recalled, laughing softly at the memory.

"Well, _yeah_! That's the normal reaction to seeing your boyfriend stabbed in the neck with a flying chunk of glass," Summer retorted with wide eyes.

Bucky shrugged. "I've had worse. And at least I didn't take a bar stool to the face like Loki did. Even though he just laughed afterwards like a maniac."

"Yeah... that was almost as crazy as Steve grabbing that big round drink tray and throwing it like a frisbee at that one dude and almost decapitating him. Like... I think I screamed again when I saw that."

"What was that fight even over?" Bucky wondered aloud, squinting as if it would help him remember.

"... It was because Tony got drunk and hit on that first guy, who then got all offended and tried to prove how straight he was by saying extremely inappropriate things about Peggy's... um... assets. Then Steve got mad and demanded an apology, and the guy said he'd just fight him instead, and then all hell broke loose."

"That's right," Bucky grinned. "Good times."

"... It kinda was," Summer agreed with a little laugh. "I miss those days."

"Yeah," Bucky agreed, his tone growing a little more serious. "Me too."

Silence fell again, but this time not even for a full minute. "How about that one time I got mugged and you chased the guy down like you were frickin' Batman and got my purse back?"

And thus began the former couple's traipse down memory lane, both of them smiling and laughing and feeling lighter than they had in ages. Bucky felt like he was slipping deeper and deeper under a crushing wave every time he glanced over and saw Summer smiling and giggling just like she always used to when they were together, when everything was as it should have been. She looked more like the real her, the Summer that he remembered, and they both got so caught up in the conversation that it took them by surprise when her apartment building came within view.

But the night had another surprising turn in store for them. Andrew's car happened to be sitting outside the building on the street, and as soon as Summer saw that she widened her eyes and squeaked, "Oh, _crap_ \- can you keep driving? Just keep - I don't care where, I just don't wanna see him right now and -"

"Yeah, yeah," Bucky quickly agreed, keeping straight and driving past her building. "No problem."

"Ugh," she groaned, leaning her forehead on her hand. "He's either in there waiting for me to get home so he can apologize or yell at me."

Bucky's eyes flew back her way. " _Yell_ at you?"

She shrugged. "He doesn't do it that often, but..."

Bucky frowned, driving a bit aimlessly at this point and just following the road. "I don't know if you're aware of this, Summer, but you say that a lot."

"Say what a lot?"

"You'll say something horrible but then say it doesn't happen often," Bucky replied. "As if that makes it any better."

"Well, but -"

"Would it make it any better if he hit you, but only once a month?" Bucky asked her. "Come on, Summer. Don't defend that idiot."

Turning away from him, Summer muttered, "You don't even know him."

"No, but I know _you_ ," he retorted, passing under a yellow light just in time to avoid the red. "And I can tell you're fucking miserable."

Summer's eyes snapped back to him in disbelief. "No I'm not."

Now it was his turn to look at her incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"

"You know what," Summer began, brows furrowing as she began to get defensive, "you don't even know what you're talking about. I haven't even seen you in months and you don't... you don't know anything about us so -"

"Then why did you ask me to take you home?" Bucky asked bluntly, a bit of a challenge in his tone. "Why are you here with me in my car instead of back at home with him?"

Summer glared at him. " _Fine_. Stop the stupid car."

Bucky almost immediately did just that, quickly pulling in behind a random building and parking haphazardly before throwing the gear into park and looking at her expectantly. She stared back at him, trying to hold on to whatever anger or defiance she had but it only took a handful of painful, quiet seconds before her face crumpled and she turned away.

His heart sunk. This wasn't what he had wanted, but he was simply incapable of sitting there and listening to her try to cover up the reality of her relationship without saying anything. He just _couldn't_. She had somehow deluded herself into thinking she was happy when he could see from a mile away that she wasn't, and if she didn't snap out of it soon she was gonna _marry_ that moron.

But the last thing he'd meant to do was make her cry.

"Summer," he said quietly, reaching out towards her out of instinct but faltering and pulling his hand back. She continued to stare out the window, trembling just enough to give away her tears. " _Summer_ , I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... shouldn't have said anything. I know it's not my place anymore."

She shook her head, wiping at her eyes and still refusing to look at him.

"I just... I know you," he said softly. "And I can't stand seeing you like this. I thought you were happy. I thought you'd found what you wanted, but..." Summer made a deep, pathetic sniffling noise and Bucky couldn't take it anymore. He reached out and touched her upper arm, gently placing his hand there and murmuring before he had a chance to stop himself, " _C'mon, sweetheart._ "

 _That_ broke her resolve instantly. She turned back to him, her blue eyes shining with tears and lips parted with surprise at his term of endearment. As soon as their eyes met, Bucky knew that he was completely and utterly screwed. No matter what happened from here on out, it was going to hurt and hurt _badly_ and he could do nothing to stop it. And in the end, he didn't _want_ to.

"Please don't call me that," she pled quietly, making no move to remove his hand or squirm away from his touch.

"I'm sorry," he said barely above a whisper. "Just... old habits, I guess."

She managed a tiny smile in reply to that, but it fell the moment he reached up to wipe away a tear from her cheek. She blinked quickly a few times and her breath stuttered, and he could _feel_ her cheek heat up beneath his touch.

" _God_ I fucking miss you," he breathed, unable to stop the words from tumbling out. She exhaled a little shakily and locked her gaze with his, her eyes a maze of emotions that neither of them could even begin to navigate without consequences.

But he wasn't thinking about consequences.

They were close, entirely too close, and growing closer by the second. He couldn't stop touching her now that he'd started, and she couldn't push him away. His heart was pounding out of his chest and he was sure that hers was too, even more so after his eyes fell briefly to her lips.

It hurt like hell to be so close to her, but he wanted more and _God_ touching her was like breathing again for the first time in months. He traced her lower lip feather-softly under his thumb and she closed her eyes and nearly whimpered, and all he could do was murmur an apology for all the ways he'd messed up in the past and how he was continuing to mess up right now. " _I'm sorry. I'm so fucking s_ -"

Before he could finish, her lips were suddenly pressed to his and the world stopped spinning. A shock struck every nerve in his body and his pounding, racing heart nearly stopped beating entirely. Before he could kiss her back or even fully process that she was kissing him in the first place, she pulled away as abruptly as she had begun and they stared at each other with equal amounts of heat and shock.

Summer seemed a little terrified at her own actions, wide-eyed and somehow both flushed _and_ pale. "Oh God."

"It's okay," he quickly reassured her, not sure if it actually _was_ okay. He comforted her instinctively by tucking her hair behind her ear and running his fingers through it like he had a thousand times before, then stroking her cheekbone with his thumb. " _It's okay_ , _baby_."

He hadn't meant to say that, but he was operating purely on instinct and it broke her resolve all over again. She shuddered faintly and then kissed him again, and this time he wasn't frozen uselessly in shock. _This time_ he kissed her back immediately, groaning faintly but deeply and burying his hand in her hair, and the kiss grew deep and desperate so fast it made his head spin.

She kissed him like her life depended on it, only breaking away when her lungs burned for air. Their foreheads pressed together, they breathed hard and fast and Summer whimpered, "What the hell am I doing?"

He didn't know what to say to that, and she saved him from having to answer her by kissing him again with even more passion. Her fingers tangled deep in his hair, and he knew that she was absolutely loving the longer length and taking advantage of it while she had the chance to.

The next time they broke apart, she groaned and muttered in distress, "I know this is _so wrong_ but I don't think I can stop."

"Then don't," he replied roughly, dropping his lips to her neck and making her gasp softly when he effortlessly found her very favorite and most sensitive spot purely from memory. He'd never claimed to be a saint, and whether this was wrong or not... it was painfully clear that they both needed it.

"But I should," she whined, grasping at his hair as he fought the overwhelming urge to possessively mark up her neck. "I've never cheated before in my life and -"

He raised his head up and looked her in the eye, telling her lowly, "You were mine first, Summer."

Her blush grew a little deeper, obviously savoring those possessive words. "I wish that was how it works."

"It's however you want it to work," Bucky replied. "You don't owe him shit. You don't owe me shit, either. It's what _you_ want. _You_ , Summer. So tell me what you want."

She stared at him for a moment, caught between desire and fear and lust that he could see burning in her eyes, exactly as he remembered, and when she finally made her decision and pushed him away and back into the driver's seat, his heart nearly shattered all over again.

But before the sting of rejection could send him down another depressive spiral, Summer surprised him by climbing into his lap and saying with a determined if still slightly nervous glint in her eye, "I want you."

He could do absolutely nothing to stop his instant, heart-melting smile of relief. She smiled back and bit her lip before leaning down and kissing him like mad, and for a little while, all was once again right with the world.

She felt like heaven in his hands, soft and warm like he remembered, as eager and desperate as he was to have another taste of the delicious, effortless chemistry between them. It was a cramped fit in the front seat but they made it work, pressed fully against each other in all the right places as they all but devoured each other without a care in the world as to getting caught.

And Summer was _damn sure_ enjoying herself.

" _Oh my God your beard_ ," she groaned, as he kissed down her neck. "And _your hair_. I can barely take it."

He chuckled against her collarbone, giving her a playful nip before looking up at her. "Yeah?"

She dragged her fingertips along his jaw and through the beard before sliding them into his hair and all but begging him, "Never ever ever shave. Like... ever."

"Whatever you want," he replied, and he meant it. She smiled at him and he smiled back before they were kissing again, leaving words behind for the moment while they got lost in each other.

Kissing her and touching her was still the most natural thing in the world, and it probably always would be. Despite how long they had been apart and the problems that had driven them to separate paths, nothing had changed when it came to _this_ part. But then again, _this_ part had always been the easiest. Even at their lowest points, they'd always had their physical connection to fall back on and bring comfort during those rough times.

And it was more than merely physical, despite - or maybe _especially_ because of - how long it had been since they had been in each other's arms. There were so many emotions and conflict and tension bubbling over the surface, and he could feel it in the way she held on to him almost painfully tightly and kissed him like it hurt her in the very best way. He wondered if she could feel the same thing in his bruising grip on her hips and the way that he sometimes had to stop and just gaze at her for a few seconds, barely able to believe that she was in his arms again... even if it ended up being just this once and never again.

But he couldn't think about that. He focused on the little moans that left her lips when he kissed her, when he pulled her hips down down against his and they ground against each other, and when he untied her dress and began to peel it off of her body. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath it and he simply forgot to remove the dress the rest of the way once that became evident, cursing softly under his breath before letting his mouth and hands become reacquainted with her beautiful, perfect breasts.

She whined his name and continued to grind on his lap, hands in his hair and skin tingling with the added sensation of his beard tickling and scraping everywhere his lips touched. She was on the verge of nearly screaming for more when he seemed to read her mind, breaking away panting and looking up at her as he growled, "Backseat. Now."

She obeyed without hesitation, getting her dress off completely as she scrambled to climb into the backseat. As she made her way there, he quickly shed his jacket and t-shirt, tossing them into the passenger seat before moving to follow her. And once he saw her laying there in just a pair of black lacy panties, looking at him and waiting impatiently, he knew exactly what he wanted to do to her.

He carefully maneuvered himself on top of her, slowly kissing his way up her body until he reached her lips. Her hands were everywhere on him, his chest and his back and his arms, and his hair tickled her cheek as he gazed down upon her and shook his head a little. "You're so fucking beautiful."

She smiled and bit her lip, reaching up and tucking his hair behind his ear. "I always believe it when you say it."

"Good. 'Cause I'm right," he grinned before stealing a kiss. "Most gorgeous woman I've ever seen. Even better than I remember."

She sighed, expression a bit dreamy. "Do you think about me a lot?"

Kissing along her jaw, he paused and met her gaze. "Every fucking day. Too much."

Eyes swimming with emotion, she took a shuddering breath and replied, "Yeah... me too."

He kissed her again, softly and sweetly. "Relax, sweetheart. No more crying. Not now." She took another deep breath and nodded, closing her eyes as he began kissing his way down her chest. He could _feel_ the tension leave her body underneath him and he groaned his approval against her skin. "Good girl."

She made a quiet, slightly strangled sound in reply as he kissed down her stomach, the heat of his mouth and scratch of his beard making her squirm. " _Bucky_..."

He looked up at her as he kissed his way to one of her hipbones. "S'wrong?"

"Nothing," she breathed, looking down and locking eyes with him. " _Nothing_."

His gaze lingered for a moment, neither of them saying another word because they didn't have to. Then, eyes still locked on hers, he trailed down lower slowly and pressed his lips to her inner thigh, watching her expression cloud with lust as he nipped at her skin just hard enough to make her entire body shudder. Then he closed his eyes and began kissing his way back up, overcome with the need to taste her for the first time in far too long and make her lose her mind. He could feel how tense she was with anticipation, all but trembling beneath him and widening her legs for him.

He pulled away long enough to slide her panties off and down her legs, tossing them on the floor of the car and then taking a moment to admire her like that, naked and blushing and _needing_ him. He wasn't sure who needed whom more or who was more desperate... or who most enjoyed what came next.

It had always been one of his favorite things, the easiest way to make her lose her mind as many times as he wanted to on any given night and something that he knew he was exceptionally good at. It wasn't vanity talking either but rather _results_ , and he'd missed it greatly. He got the feeling that she had too, based on how she let out a shaky sigh and groaned a heavy, uncontrollable _oh my God_ the moment he moved down and put his mouth on her. He wanted to utterly devour her, make her shake and moan and grab his hair and be helpless to do anything but lay back and let the pleasure overtake her, and that was exactly what he did.

He loved all of it, the sound of her voice filling up the increasingly heated air of the car as she whimpered and sometimes said his name like a desperate, forbidden plea, the way that one of her legs dangled off the seat while he held the other over his shoulder, and most of all, the way that she grasped his hair and gasped and cried out when it all came to a head and she could hold back no longer. It had always been a beautiful thing to see and _feel_ but this time was even better than all the rest, for many reasons that he couldn't fully comprehend in that moment. What he did know was that he was possibly more aroused than he had ever been in his life, and that he would have kept going had Summer not whimpered and pushed his head away a little clumsily as she tried not to collapse from overstimulation.

Though the light was low within in the car, Bucky was able to glance down and see the redness his beard had left behind on her inner thighs after he pulled away panting. The sight made him have to suppress a little grin before he dragged his eyes back up over Summer's body, eyes locking with hers again as she tried to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry, I just... I felt like I was gonna die if you didn't stop," she blurted, pressing a hand to her forehead. "I haven't... _God_ I haven't felt anything like that in so long. I think my heart stopped for a minute."

"Yeah?" he grinned, lowering himself on top of her again, stroking her cheek. "That good?"

She giggled softly and closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "The best. You've always been the best."

She said those words a little sadly, and he understood why. But he didn't want to hear anything sad come out of her mouth anymore, so he leaned down and kissed her gently and sweetly, as if showing her his love through his touch could somehow change the mess that they were in and making worse with each moment they spent in each other's arms.

He kissed her softly and slowly despite the way that his body was screaming for her touch, reluctantly pulling away when she placed her hand on his cheek and he felt the cool press of the band of her diamond engagement ring. He took her wrist gently and eyed the jewelry, noting quietly, "It's round."

"Yeah," she said, looking at him rather than the ring she'd been wearing for a few months.

"You don't like round stones," Bucky added, meeting her gaze. She nodded again, giving a light shrug. He then maintained eye contact with her as he grasped the ring between two fingers and pulled it off of her, then without a word, dropped it to the floor of the car. She watched him do it with slightly wide eyes, but she didn't say a word of protest.

He didn't know if she'd grab the ring and put it back on after they were finished. He didn't know _what_ was gonna happen then, period, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna be inside of her while a piece of _him_ was wrapped around her finger. What he didn't expect was how that action seemed to flip a switch within her.

She pulled him back down and kissed him furiously, seizing a little bit of control and sliding her legs around his hips, pulling him down against her and grinding up on him, biting his lower lip when he groaned softly against her mouth. Their eyes opened and met once more, and this time Summer panted, " _Sit up, sit up_."

He scrambled to comply within the limited space, and once he did she straddled his lap, her head just narrowly avoiding bumping the ceiling. He watched her as she hurriedly undid his jeans, his heart pounding and sensations in overdrive, but when she moved to kiss him again he stopped her at the last minute.

"You sure about this?" he asked even though it went against every instinct in his body to do so. But he loved her more than he wanted to fuck her, and he didn't want her to do something that she'd ultimately hate herself for.

She stopped and stared at him, eyes full of heat and need and love that she'd never lost, and it wasn't long before she gave her answer. Rather than use words, she reached down and grasped him in her hand, then guided him in and watched as his mouth fell open and eyes rolled shut, brows furrowing fractionally as he was overcome by bliss.

She hadn't seen anything so beautiful in ages. He hadn't felt anything so _real_ since before the day she left him.

It started slow, Summer moving gently and languidly on him and controlling the pace, both of them savoring the unmistakable feeling of _being home again_ until it wasn't enough anymore. He gripped her hips hard enough to bruise, his face buried within in her breasts and kissing on them hotly, almost sloppily, moving with her as she rode him with gradually increasing speed, one hand tangled in his hair while her other arm clung tightly to his shoulders. The air around them was growing stiflingly hot, the windows surely fogged entirely, the world outside nowhere near their minds as they happily lost themselves in each other.

Their lips met in a frantic kiss in the midst of it all, Bucky knowing he wasn't gonna last much longer and cradling her face sweetly as he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. Both breathing heavy in the barely-there space between them, Bucky groaned her name. When she only moaned softly in response, he slid his fingers into her hair and repeated lowly, " _Summer_."

She opened her eyes and met his gaze but neither of them slowed down. His next words came rushing out in a mess of emotion that he could barely recognize as his own voice. " _I love you so much._ "

Summer whimpered and held on tighter. "Bucky -"

"I love you," he repeated, kissing her again and finding that he was utterly incapable of restraining himself. " _I love you, I love you_. I was a fucking idiot and I'm sorry, _I'm so fucking sorry_ , _baby_..."

"Stop, stop," she pled before kissing him to shut him up. How she could feel so much pain and so much pleasure at the same time was a mystery but they were both riding the chaos and savoring the hurt just as much as the pleasure.

"I can't," he breathed, all of his words escaping between fevered kisses. "I can't stop. You feel so fucking good."

Her nails bit deliciously hard into his shoulder, her movements turning erratic. " _Bucky_..."

"Do you still love me?" he asked barely above a whisper, eyes open again and full of everything he felt inside and couldn't hold back. " _Please_ tell me you love me. _Please baby_..."

"I love you," she assured him shakily, a tear escaping her eye but not escaping his notice. "You _know_ I love you. More than _anything_."

Her words rushing over him like fire and water all in one, he shuddered and held her closer, crushing her to his chest and murmuring in her ear, "Stay with me, Summer. Don't leave me again... _please don't leave me._ "

She didn't answer him. Instead she moaned brokenly and buried her face in his neck and half-unknowingly pulled his hair hard as she finally came, spasming wildly around him and bringing him to his own near-blackout of an end. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before, on an entirely different level due to the almost unbearable emotions whirling between them like a storm, and they rode it out together until it was finally over.

After, holding her against his chest with their eyes still closed and minds not yet quite functioning, he felt as if he'd laid his very soul out before her feet. It was a new feeling, and it wasn't lost on him that it was precisely why he had lost her before. He had been too closed off, too cold sometimes, pushing her away because the idea of opening up and letting her in was far too terrifying for him to handle. But now he knew that he should have trusted her and that she wasn't going to hurt him the way others had. He should have trusted her from the very beginning and saved both of them a world of pain.

He wished he could go back in time and slapped some sense into himself. He wished that it wasn't too late, but now as the heat and adrenaline wore off and rational thought returned... what happened next?

Summer was in no hurry to move or come back to reality herself, but eventually she had no choice. Bucky watched her carefully - maybe a little fearfully - as she sat up in his arms and pushed her hair behind her ear. She reluctantly met his gaze, showing him how much of a mess she was. Her hair was a wreck and her makeup utterly ruined, and her eyes... _God_ he hated seeing her so conflicted and scared herself.

He reached up and tried to fix some of her makeup, wiping some away with his thumb as she looked away and seemed... ashamed.

"I cheated on my fiancé," she muttered, sounding dejected.

"Yeah," he said softly. There was no use in pretending otherwise. He didn't want her to feel guilty but she was _Summer_ and she was the type to feel guilty for sending back sandwiches that had been made wrong. Guilt was inevitable.

"And I'm gonna do it again."

He blinked. _That_ wasn't what he'd expected to hear. "Wh-"

"I mean, what now?" she asked. "I go ahead and marry him and then sleep with you again the next time you come around? Because there's no way I'll be able to stop myself - this just proves that. So we have some kind of... hot, forbidden affair and I'm _that_ wife who bangs her ex when her husband's at work. Then I'll get pregnant and basically my entire life will be a bad Jerry Springer episode. Or Maury, with the 'You _are_ the father!' and yeah, no thank you."

He blinked again. "Summer, I don't think -"

"It can't be like it was before," she told him, looking him in the eye and shaking her head a little. "I can't do it. I can't handle you pushing me away and making me walk on eggshells every time you're upset and won't tell me what's wrong."

Oh. _Oh_. "I won't, I won't," he quickly replied. "I'm better now, I swear."

She eyed him skeptically. "You have to stay in therapy. You stop and I'm out. I mean it."

He nodded, hope bursting anew and making him feel suddenly lightheaded. "Yeah, okay. Deal."

"And you have to quit smoking."

He grinned. "Haven't touched a cigarette in six months."

Her eyebrows flew up. "Really?"

"Really."

"... Wow. Okay." She smiled with pride, and Bucky's heart swelled in turn. "And we take it slow. We've been through a lot and... we always move too fast." She paused and gestured to their current situation. "Case in point."

He smiled. He couldn't help it. "Yeah."

She sighed, looking him over and playing idly with the ends of his hair as they just brushed his shoulder. "You ripped my heart out. If you do it again..."

"I won't," he replied, shaking his head and cradling her cheek as he spoke. "I promise you, Summer. I'll cut off my own arm before I lose you again."

Though she still looked weary and definitely frightened, she smiled a little and teased, "Don't do that. I like your arms."

He ran his thumb over her lower lip, wondering if he'd ever not marvel over how beautiful she was. Probably not. "I _love_ you."

Her smile grew and her eyes shined with fresh but unshed tears. "I love you too." She kissed his thumb and he couldn't help it - he pulled her close and kissed her long and sweet, heart soaring and whole again at last. He was the single luckiest idiot in the world, he was sure of it, and now that he'd been given a second chance with this woman by some kind of damn miracle... he was gonna make her the happiest fucking woman _alive_ and never lose her again.

He never would have guessed that crashing her engagement party would end up being one of the best decisions he'd ever made in his life. One thing was sure - he was gonna have one hell of a story for his therapist the following Monday morning.

"Oh, one more rule," Summer said, breaking the kiss just before he would have gotten carried away and flipped her on her back again.

"Anything you want, sweetheart," Bucky replied with a grin, feeling like he was on top of the world.

She brought a hand to his job. "You gotta keep the beard. For like... ever. And the long hair too for sure because it's hot as hell. But the beard is... non-negotiable."

His grin deepened and he happily acquiesced. "Done."

* * *

 _One year later_

"I can't believe it," Steve said, slapping his best friend on the back with a big smile. "You're actually getting married."

Bucky nodded and grinned, leaning on the bar as they waited for another round of drinks. "I know. I'm about to ask someone to pinch me." He immediately jabbed a finger towards the man on his other side and said, "If you pinch my ass I swear to God I'll slap you."

Loki furrowed his brows and scoffed. "That is the least effective thing you could possibly threaten me with. In fact, it's not even a threat, it's an incentive."

"Do you ever stop?" Steve asked, looking past Bucky to the ever-incorrigible Loki.

"He secretly loves it," Loki waved him off. "It's why he only threatens me with things he knows I enjoy. He plays a sick game, this one."

"Dunno what you're talking about," Bucky shrugged casually and innocently.

"Of course not," Loki rolled his eyes. "Do continue to torment me, I quite enjoy it."

"Honestly," Steve opined, "with a wife like yours, Loki, I don't know why you'd even bother looking at anyone else. Ever."

Loki turned and cast his gaze on the table where their women were seated, and Bucky and Steve followed suit. "It's all in good fun," Loki shrugged. "The icing on the cake, so to speak. I am wholly satisfied by Aemilia and need nobody else. But it's rather fun to play around a bit every once in awhile." He eyed Steve. "Surely Peggy and yourself would agree, given the right circumstances."

Steve opened his mouth to answer but Bucky cut him off. "Can you not try to organize one of your orgies at my engagement party? I mean... _dude_."

"Well I was going to invite you and Summer along as well," Loki shrugged, like he was discussing an upcoming dinner party. "I'm not rude."

"No," Steve agreed. "Just shameless and obnoxious."

Loki grinned. "Jealous, darling? It's all right, I'd lavish just as much attention on you as I would our friend. I leave no man or woman unsatisfied."

Steve flustered right on cue. "... That is not what I meant and you know it."

While the men bickered as they always did, Bucky's eyes drifted to his soon-to-be wife and the rest of the world fell away as he watched her smile and laugh with Aemilia and Peggy. She was so damn happy and she looked like she had stepped directly out of his dreams, wearing a gorgeous and tantalizingly low cut vibrant blue dress and tall black heels, hair down and loosely curled, but the most breathtaking part of her was her eyes. Her happiness shined within them for the world to see, and it was a world of difference from her _other_ engagement party the year prior.

He had kept each of his promises to her, from the therapy to the smoking and even the beard. His hair was shorter now but the beard continued to be a requirement not up for debate, and he was more than happy to oblige. Their relationship was far, far stronger and healthier than it had been their first go around, and he thought it was rather funny how that had worked out. They had both grown and learned so much in their time apart, and he wasn't sure they would have ever reached their current level had he never been an idiot and lost her in the first place.

 _Yeah_ , everything had worked out better than he could have ever hoped for. Sometimes he was afraid to say it out loud and jinx it, but the other shoe hadn't dropped yet. Maybe for once, fate was all out of shoes.

"... I'm just saying," Loki drawled when Bucky regained his sense of hearing, "with the right _preparation_..."

Steve shook his head, grabbing three of the drinks that were just placed on the bar. "Never gonna convince me. I'm just not into it."

Loki huffed and grabbed a few of the drinks as well. "Tell me, does your wife ever tire of being married to such a massive stick in the mud?"

"Probably not," Bucky interjected, gathering up the rest of the drinks, "because he lets her tie him up and shit. She seems pretty content."

Steve blushed and Loki rolled his eyes as they made their way back to the table. "How very adventurous."

"And what's adventurous to you?" Steve asked. "Chains and gags and one of those sex swings?"

Loki shrugged. "Those swings are overrated. They take up quite a bit of room too. A pole is a better use of space."

Steve's eyes widened a bit. "Aemilia does pole dancing?"

Loki tossed him a smirk. "Who said it was Aemilia's pole?"

Bucky started laughing and shook his head. "That reminds me of that time back in college when you danced on a street lamp and almost got arrested."

Steve's _wtf_ face grew ever stronger as they finally approached the table. "A street lamp?"

"What about a street lamp?" Summer asked, the girls only catching the tail end of the conversation. Bucky slid back into his seat next to her and handed her drink to her, giving her a quick little kiss and throwing an arm around her.

"Loki tried to fuck one," Bucky shrugged, figuring that was close enough.

"No, I tried to fuck the cop," Loki clarified.

"What cop?" Aemilia asked. "I don't remember this story."

"It's the same as every story," Steve shrugged. "Loki does something ridiculous and he somehow avoids the consequences by screwing his way out of it."

Loki paused, thinking. "... You know, I have no decent argument to that. Good job, Rogers."

Steve gave him a mock salute, and Peggy glanced around the table before asking, "Where are Clint and Natasha?"

"Banging in the bathroom," Summer shrugged. "They've been in there for like 15 minutes now."

"I'll kick their asses," Bucky rolled his eyes, sipping his whiskey. "Missing my engagement party for no good reason."

"They did the same thing last year, at the other engagement party," Peggy noted. "That was before you arrived."

"Yes, your grand entrance that changed your very fates," Loki grinned to Bucky and Summer. "I'm sad to have missed it."

"Well, you definitely made up for it blowing up our phones the whole night after the party," Bucky pointed out. "I think I had literally 50 texts from you, and half of them were stupid gifs and memes."

"I had exactly 68 from Aemilia," Summer recalled with a chuckle. "The very last one was the Keith Urban song with the video where it's like one long sex scene mixed with random shots of him playing his guitar."

"One long _car_ sex scene!" Aemilia giggled. "It's literally called _Somewhere in My Car_. It was utterly perfect."

"How did you even know they were in a car?" Peggy asked.

"I have Summer on an app that tracks friends and family, for safety purposes," Aemilia explained. "Her little dot on the map was stuck for ages behind a vacant building two blocks away from her apartment. And Bucky had told Loki that he was giving her a ride home. Considering neither of them were answering our texts... it wasn't difficult to put two and two together."

"I knew it as soon as he told me about the ride home," Loki added, eyeing Bucky and Summer. "The two of you have about as much self control as two devoutly religious Catholic rabbits."

"Hey," Summer giggled in faux offense. "Can you blame me?"

"Not at all," Loki replied. "I, too, am always uncontrollably aroused by the presence of your fiancé."

Steve rolled his eyes and set his drink down. " _Oh my God_ we get it - give it a damn rest."

Loki's eyes cut sharply to Steve and he challenged quite seriously, " _Make me_."

Bucky's eyes flickered from the now-silent Steve to Loki and back again before he reached for his drink. "You know, I bet Clint and Nat would be willing to give up the bathroom for awhile if you guys need to fuck some of that tension off."

Steve glared at Bucky while Peggy laughed into her drink, Aemilia doing the same, and Loki shook his head and replied, "Oh no, I would never use a filthy public restroom for such a thing, especially for a man's first time." He paused and took a drink, waiting for Steve to pick his own back up and take a sip. "Filthy public restrooms are for blow jobs." Steve choked, and Loki barely suppressed a victorious cackle.

Just then, as if the party needed even more debauched talk, Tony came sashaying to their table while whipping off a pair of sunglasses - at 8 o'clock at night - and announcing, "Sorry I'm late, I got held up at work. Well, not work. I actually just woke up like two hours ago. Got super drunk last night and got the hangover from hell. Guess I'm not 22 anymore. What'd I miss?"

He took a seat next to Steve as Aemilia helpfully replied, "Clint and Natasha are hooking up in the bathroom as we speak, my husband wants to make sweet passionate love to Bucky and also blow Steve in the bathroom once Clint and Natasha are done with it, and Bucky and Summer are apparently very religious bunnies."

"... Huh. Sounds about right," Tony nodded, glancing around the table. "Bunch of whores."

"Pots and kettles and glass houses and all that," Bucky nodded with a grin.

"Never claimed otherwise," Tony winked. Then he threw an arm over the back of Steve's chair and asked him, "Have I, Toots?"

Steve looked away and sighed, grabbing his drink again. "Don't start, Tony. I'm getting enough of that from Loki."

"You have not taken nearly enough of _anything_ from me, darling," Loki retorted with a grin, earning another glare and getting a laugh out of Tony and most of the others present.

"I simply adore how my husband is such a desired plaything among my peers," Peggy said lightly. "And I think he secretly likes it too."

"No I don't!" Steve argued. "It's getting old! And I'm not even into guys so why -"

"Pal," Bucky interrupted gently, "we all saw you make out with Tony last year."

"I was drunk!" Steve sputtered. "And it was a dare! I'd do anything on a drunken dare, dammit!"

"Calm down," Tony said, patting his shoulder. "It's one of my most treasured memories. And just out of curiosity - how many of us here at this table haven't screwed around some? Obviously we've got the couples, but then there's me and Steve. Also me and Loki."

Loki raised his glass to Tony in a mock toast. "Yes, good times."

"Life changing," Tony nodded. "Who else..." He looked at Loki and Aemilia, then Bucky and Summer and asked, "Didn't you crazy kids... once or twice...?"

Summer blushed instantly, opening her mouth and then snapping it shut several times. "Well... we... uh... I mean... we..."

"... That's a yes," Tony decided. "Then there was Buck-o over here and Nat, we all remember that phase. Except Summer, since she wasn't with us yet. Obviously, or else it probably never would have happened. Actually, Loki, didn't you and Nat bang at least once?"

"No," Loki shook his head.

Tony squinted. "You didn't? Could have sworn you did."

"Never," Loki confirmed.

"... Then what am I remembering wrong?"

"You've confused me with my other half," Loki said nonchalantly. "I merely watched."

Summer's eyes widened as they flew to Aemilia, currently blushing but also looking rather proud. Aemilia simply winked at her, and Bucky watched his wife with amusement before leaning in and whispering, "Just how vividly _are_ you imagining that?"

"Extremely," Summer whispered back. "My God. So much red hair." She paused. "And _boobs_."

Bucky chuckled and kissed her temple affectionately. "You might have a type, sweetheart."

As Summer considered that, Tony shrugged and gestured to the table, deciding, "Anyway, there you have it. We're all sluts. Just some of us need to play catch up." He paused and coughed, " _Steve_. By the way, happy engagement."

"Thanks," Bucky drawled, smiling quite genuinely. "And thank you all for coming. Even you, Stark."

"Party don't start til I walk in. So not to dredge up any unpleasant memories, but how's your last fiancé doing?" Tony asked Summer. "Anybody heard from him lately?"

"Well, since we broke up on kind of... bad terms, we don't keep in touch, but..."

Peggy thought for a moment and asked, "Didn't you burst into your apartment where he was waiting for you and literally scream 'I cheated on you and now I'm breaking up with you'?"

Summer cringed. "Yeah... not really my best moment but... I panicked."

"But then he confessed to cheating on you as well, multiple times," Aemilia pointed out.

"Right, which made me feel a hell of a lot less guilty. But he still yelled at me and called me a stupid whore and all kinds of things. So yeah, then he grabbed his stuff and left and that was pretty much it. I see him tagged in pictures sometimes. He has a dog now and opened a brewery, I guess," she shrugged. "Whatever."

"I will always relish the memory of punching him in his smug little face," Aemilia grinned.

Loki nodded in agreement. "Hands down one of your finest moments, darling."

"It all served a purpose," Bucky shrugged, absently caressing Summer's upper arm. "Worked out better than I could have ever hoped for. I finally shaped up and stopped being a moron. I've got my girl," he grinned to Summer, who smiled back so sweetly it made his heart hurt. "And I've got all of you guys, too. So yeah. I'm a pretty lucky bastard."

The table then collectively grew a massive cavity as Summer smiled and gave him a kiss, none of them immune from the sweetness nor the happiness that was all but palpable between the two of them. It was infectious, so much so that even Tony had to give a smile and refrain from cracking a joke.

For a minute or two, anyway.

"So, when you guys gonna start popping out babies? I'm ready to be a fun uncle."

Summer paused in mild panic and opened her mouth to stutter out an answer when she was silenced by Clint and Natasha reappearing, rushing past their table in what appeared to be a very frenzied hurry.

"Sorry guys, gotta go to the ER," Natasha said, helping a limping and groaning Clint move as quickly as possible towards the exit.

"What? Why? What happened?" Bucky asked, everyone eyeing the couple in alarm.

Natasha glanced back at them and said, "Landed wrong and possibly broke his penis."

Every man at the table audibly gasped, cringed, and died a little inside at those words. "Oh my God!" Summer squeaked. "Yeah, get to the hospital! I hope everything turns out okay! Text me!"

"Godspeed, Barton," Loki said grimly. Clint merely whined a little louder, steps faltering, and finally Natasha simply picked him up bridal style and made her way to the door.

"Holy crap," Tony marveled at the unexpected display of strength from such a tiny woman.

"She's got strong thighs," Bucky explained.

"She does," Aemilia agreed. "Nearly snapped my neck."

Everyone was silent for a moment, the implications of those words loading until Steve's eyes flew to her. "Wait, _what?_ "

"Yeah, elaborate on that one," Summer nodded enthusiastically, and Bucky laughed at his soon to be wife's eagerness as he leaned back in his seat and let out a deep breath. He'd figured that their engagement was gonna be a riot, and thus far it definitely hadn't disappointed - and the night wasn't over yet.

But the best part of it all was knowing that once all the drinks had been had and all the laughter had died down and their friends safely tucked into cabs for the night, it would be just him and Summer and their whole lives still in front of them. Despite all the twists and turns that had nearly derailed them, they had ended up where they'd always been meant to and by some stroke of luck he didn't expect to ever replicate, he had found his way back home again. And his home was there, with Summer, surrounded by the happily crazy and mildly obnoxious family they had in their friends.

It was a damn good life. And to think he nearly threw away his chance at it at a red light exactly one year to the day before.


End file.
